In this chapter we will analyze the empirical findings in order to fulfill our purpose of this study which is to analyze and compare the content of the courses at those EQUIS-accredited Business Schools that offers courses including Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability and to investigate to what extent the concepts are raised.
5.1. Analysis of the content
We will begin with an analysis of the content of the program- and course descriptions and the different concepts, Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability, by comparing our findings with the theoretical framework presented earlier.
5.1.1 Business Ethics
In our investigation of the management master programs we found many different forms of the concepts we were looking for. When looking at Business Ethics we also found related concepts such as Employment Ethics, Ethical Responsibility, Ethical Positions, Ethical landscape in corporations and Ethical Leadership. Even though these topics not specifically mention the concept of Business Ethics, we can assume that they are closely related to Business Ethics. This indicates that not only do the students learn about Business Ethics but also about different aspects of it. Unfortunately, this knowledge is spread widely among the nine EQUIS-accredited business schools and none of the students are offered all of these topics in their studies. Still, we may insinuate that many students are offered education in Business Ethics even though the perspective of the concept may differ to some extent between the different business schools. With the wide range of different definitions of Business Ethics (e.g. Moorcroft 2004, p.4; Holmes 2008, p.249; Crane and Matten 2007, p.5) there is no surprise that the education offered regarding the subject differ between the schools which however could be seen as positive. With a versatile knowledge within a company many different aspects to different issues could be raised which could contribute to a more creative thinking which according to Holmes (2008, p.305) is essential for employees in their creation of an ethical corporation.
According to Crane and Matten (2007, p.4) Business Ethics is a topic that is getting intensified attention in research and media. Students that do take courses regarding Business Ethics will be able to learn about the concept through their education compared to students not taking the courses. Not only will the students be offered education in how to treat employees and make them implement the company’s ethical values into their every day work but they will also be offered knowledge in how to turn an ethical business approach into something profitable for the corporation (Holmes, 2008, p. 303-305). Students who understand the concepts of Business Ethics might, in their future employments, be able to handle different kinds of ethical dilemmas that their company might face and through strategic efforts turn the dilemmas into something positive. No only students taking courses including Business Ethics will be able to perform ethically in their future employments, but they might have an advantage compared to students not taking courses including Business Ethics. Maybe most importantly, by taking courses within Business Ethics the potential future company leaders will have been offered education in how to create a company that functions in an ethical manner which pervades through the whole organization. This is quite important
48 as an ethical strategy that is not created properly, and make employees and management shattered, will not be successful since everyone involved need to agree in order to create a unity towards corporate ethical values (Holmes, 2008, p. 303-305)
5.1.2 Sustainability
The concept of Sustainability was mentioned in varying ways in the program descriptions, such as Sustainable Thinking, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Management, Environmental Management, Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Innovations and Nature Protection. Sustainability is most often linked to the environment but also to social and economic aspects (Elkington, 1997, p.18) and closely related to Sustainable Development (Crane & Matten, 2007, p.21) Through reading about these concepts students might learn how to protect the environment without affecting the company negatively in any aspect, e.g. financially. There is a possibility that students recognizing the importance of Sustainability also reflect over the concept Sustainable Consumption. Overconsumption is today a huge issue when it comes to the environment and companies are often getting judged because of this even though focus has shifted to some extent towards the customers and their impact on the environment since they are the actual ones buying products and keeping the companies running (OECD, 2002, p.3). Balancing sustainable thinking and economic gain is tough since increased sales means more money but also a higher negative impact on the society and the environment. Elkington (1997, p.18) explains Sustainability as a three component concept including environmental, social and economical aspects. This means that not only do companies have to take social and environmental issues into consideration but also consider how the environmental and social actions affect the company’s economy. Since companies today are getting a lot of attention on how they act, it could be an advantage if the management students enter the labor market with knowledge regarding Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Sustainable Consumption and how to increase Sustainability without negatively affect the company’s profit.
5.1.3 Corporate Social Responsibility
According to our empirical findings CSR is not a very common topic in management master programs at the studied EQUIS-accredited business schools. Out of the 40 investigated programs only seven explicitly mention CSR as a part of the education, and only two programs give us some form of indication that CSR might be discussed, which of course is something we can not assume without further investigation of the programs.
CSR is a raising subject and something that gets a lot of attention both in research and media. Today, the public debate has a great focus on the environmental issues and the financial situation in the world. It seems like at this time it is more important than ever that companies take their responsibility towards creating a more sustainable society. When a company is implementing CSR they want to improve the well-being of the society and the well-being of the organization (Staples, 2004 in Chahal & Sharma, 2006). Therefore it is of advantage if the students learn how to become company leaders and are aware of the role of CSR in today’s corporations; both consequences of it and how to implement it into the corporate strategy. Implementing CSR is not easy and different companies face different issues depending on what environment they are operating in (Galbreath, 2008, pp.115-116). As mentioned, the
49 media coverage regarding the environment, the financial situation in the world and companies not performing ethically is extensive and it is truly a source for creating an understanding regarding the issues and what needs to be done. Still, there is a lot of confusion regarding how to implement CSR into a corporate strategy and many companies fail with this mission even though professionals are involved in the process of creating the strategy (Galbreath, 2008, p.113). Therefore learning about CSR through media and public debates might not be enough when it comes to knowing how to implement CSR compared to learning about it through education.
5.2 Analysis of the extent to which the concepts are raised
In this part we will analyze to what extent the concepts of Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability and other related concepts are raised in the studied EQUIS-accredited business schools’ management programs. The extent to which these concepts are brought up is relevant to analyze since it vary between the different business schools and management programs and may affect and limit the managements students’ possibilities to learn about Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability.
5.2.1 The Concepts are raised in all of the Business Schools
According to Strong (1998, pp. 349) education is important in order to make an individual think more sustainable. This means that schools which raise the issues of Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability contribute to the students’ knowledge and awareness of environmental and social issues and concerns. According to the empirical findings the extent to which the concepts of Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability vary between the business schools, management programs and courses. All of the nine EQUIS-accredited business schools in the Nordic countries have at least one management program which raises some of these concepts. This could indicate that the schools are aware of these issues and the importance of providing the students with sustainable thinking even though not all of their programs raise these concepts. Samuelson (2004, p.8) states that business students should be educated about the ethical, social and environmental issues which companies might face since they are such important actors in the society and often have a lot of local impact. Business Schools should educate management students not only about how to maximize profits (Ghoshal, 2005, p.76) but also how businesses affect the social and environmental surroundings. If the business schools offer management programs which raise issues such as Business Ethics, Sustainability and CSR, which the studied business schools does to some extent, they show an awareness of the importance of it and could be seen as a business school which take their responsibility to educate the future business leaders.
5.2.2 Management Programs which focus primarily on the concepts
In many management programs we found that the concepts of Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability or related concepts were included in the program description. However, only a few management programs were directed specifically towards issues such as Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability. Even though students may have had knowledge about environmental issues and sustainability before they became university students, they have at a higher level of education the intellectual capability to understand the complexity of sustainability (Sibbel, 2008, p.74). Management students attending the business schools which provide programs
50 directed towards Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability have the possibility to choose a program which allow them to learn about these issues in more depth and at a higher level of education. Education is important for sustainability, and universities can contribute and help the society towards a more sustainable future through providing the society with graduated students who has the knowledge and skills which companies, governments and the whole society can be supported by in the process towards a more sustainable society (Chalkley, 2006, p. 235). The empirical results indicate that not all of the studied business schools prioritize to provide programs within Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability but that a few business schools take their social responsibility and provide management students with whole programs dedicated to these concepts.
5.2.3 Elective courses which offer the concepts
We have concluded that 19 of the 40 studied management master programs include courses within Business Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability. However, several of them are elective courses. This means that students can choose to study them if they want to. One example is the program Logistics and Transport Management at the Business School at Gothenburg University which prepares the students for a career within logistics. We could not find any of the concepts of Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability in the program- and mandatory course descriptions. An elective course of 7.5 ECTS about environmental aspects of Logistics and Sustainable Development is offered at the third semester in this program. The problem with offering only elective courses and not make these courses mandatory is that students might choose not to take them because they may not be aware of the importance of Sustainability or CSR. According to Ghoshal (2005, p.76) business schools have been educating business students how to govern a company in order to maximize profits and share holder value and that this has led to that business students have been freed from morality thinking. Also, the study made by Smyth et al. (2009) which examined 786 college students’ perceptions of several ethical situations showed that business students are less ethical than non-business students. If these results are transferable to the management students at the investigated business schools in this study, the empirical results indicate that the students may not choose to take elective courses within Business Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability since they do not prioritize these subjects.
5.2.4 Non-mandatory literature about the concepts
At the business schools where we had the opportunity to study the course literature lists we found that at some of the programs the literature about issues of Sustainability and Businesses’ responsibilities is non-mandatory. In the program description of the Management Program at Umeå School of Business we found that the books regarding CSR, Ethics and Morality were optional, meaning that the students do not have to study the books. According to Smyth et al. (2009, p.237) students, in particular business students should be exposed to the problems and long-run consequences of unethical behavior and they should learn that unethical attitudes may have impact on the global economy. Further, that the students in schools which require them to take at least one course in ethics are more ethical (Smyth et al. 2009, p.236).This indicates that students exposed to ethical material during class, including the course literature will shape their perceptions of ethical considerations.
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5.2.5 When the concepts are not raised in the Management Programs
At 11 of the 40 investigated management programs we found no information which indicates that the concepts of Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability or related ones are discussed. Still, we are aware that there is a possibility that we have missed information in the program- and course descriptions during the data collection of this study or that the descriptions lack in information about these concepts. Governments have a huge responsibility since they are the policymakers and control the regulations in a country and they should influence the people to moral thinking through information and education (Jackson & Michaelis, 2003, p.9). Therefore the schools, and in this particular case the management programs, play an important role. The empirical results indicate that the studied business schools offer courses and programs within Business Ethics, CSR and Sustainability, but that not all of the programs raise these issues. This does not indicate that the management students are not able to learn about these concepts somewhere else. Rather it indicates that the business schools have decided not to raise these issues in all of their management master programs. The possible reasons for this decision will be discussed in the next chapter.
The companies are under a lot of pressure due to the world wide discussions about the environment and the degradation of the ecosystem. The consumers have shown a growing interest towards more environmental friendly products (D’Souza, Taghian, & Lamb, 2006, p.163) and companies are expected by the governments and the consumers to take more social and environmental responsibility (Elkington, 1994 p.96-97) and contribute to environmental sustainability since they should listen to the demand and provide the consumers with environmental friendly alternatives (Buchholz, 1998, p.881). The empirical results indicate that not all management students study business ethical issues in their management programs and that they need to learn about these concepts somewhere else if they want to be able to manage a company which contribute to a sustainable society.
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